Gig Review: Picture This at The Olympia Theatre

The rise and rise of Picture This has been almost inexplicable and the lads are no strangers to performing sold out shows filled with adoring, occasionally rabid young fans. Ryan and Jimmy have cultivated so many screaming admirers in the space of just a few months that even Justin Bieber (who’s down the road on this night, in fact) might turn and look twice. They’ve got the type of support that any dreamy Irish boyband would be envious of, and yet they’re very much a serious rock band in their own right.

Support on their second night at The Olympia Theatre night is brought to us by Luke Power and Orla Gartland, two brilliant artists in-and-off themselves who I admire all the more for doing battle the raucous clamour of the crowd.

When Orla Gartland finally leaves the stage, the excitement peaks and the tension threatens to bubble over. Picture This rush on stage to a kaleidoscope of flashing lights and three screens behind them are aglow with colour. They break into ‘Saviour’ and the crowd sways and swoons as Ryan pumps out each line.

The band follow this with a couple of new numbers, clearly intending their string of sold-out shows to be the place to tease fans with original music. There’s that many new songs that you feel like the set is in danger of drifting towards a lull, but Picture This have perfected their guitar-slinging hooks and catchy choruses to the point where, even after the first time hearing each song, you get a sense that the crowd has caught up with every note, remembered every line. This is a dedicated, meticulous audience ready to willingly accept any new hit that the band give them.

“We’ll play one more new song you don’t know then get down to the real business,” Ryan tells us wryly, minutes before breaking into ‘For You’. This clear, objective, adult reviewer didn’t predict himself dancing along with the band and Picture This’ teenage fanclub, but that’s exactly where the song took me. Picture This are far too catchy for me to stand about being static. Besides, Ryan’s dubious moves make me feel like I’m not the worst dancer in the room…

The rest of the gig is one broad sweep of hits from Picture This’ chart-topping debut EP. It’s a huge shirts-off, confetti-exploding burst of raw live energy that climaxes with ‘Take My Hand’ (what else?). By the time the band leave the stage – minus Ryan’s t-shirt and Jimmy’s drum sticks, which have duly been dispersed amongst the crowd – the exhilaration is palpable. If this set, its magnificent lights show, and the band’s vitality are anything to go by, we’ll be seeing them playing stadium concerts soon enough.